When he heard of her, he thought she was a joke. When she met him, she figured he'd be the perfect "partner in crime". Too bad it took forever for them both to realize how dependent they became on each other. CharonxFLW. Rating is subject to change.

This is merely an Intermission. Not much importance happens here and I thought it'd be nice to let you know how she felt before they moved on. Also this is to tide you over for a while. The next chapter is going to be pretty long and I'm hoping it'll be done sooner rather than later. Let me know if you guys have any questions that don't involve spoilers for the story.

JadeObsession: Thank you :) I imagine I have her retaliate a lot since she has been wronged before and generally doesn't like the feeling.

AikaOokami: Thank you thank you thank you! It means a lot to know that other people see that I really did work on this particular character. I feel like Charon gets jealous in a lot of stories though. In my story, he's been in the Ninth Circle for so long that he didn't know who Gob was. I imagine the guy never went into a place like that with Ahzrukhal there. At least how I think of him.

Thank you for all my reviews! They make me write more and a variety of readers and reviewers make me smile.

There was nothing he could do.

Charon felt absolutely useless as he walked around the Jefferson Memorial. The walls were stained with the blood of Super Mutants, spilled by him and his employer. He could just hear the echo of his gunshots against the steel walls just over the triumphant cries of Flood's victory. He exited the basement and recalled the incessant shooting of the machine gun perched on the ceiling and the whir of deactivation after she hacked its main computer and shut it down. The looks of those Mutant's faces were priceless. They weren't expecting the cowardly pair hiding behind the corner to be not so cowardly after all.

Flood wasn't beside him to recall these memories, however. She was in the basement listening to the recordings they'd found in the Rotunda.

The three Holotapes had sat forgotten on the control panel in the decontamination chamber. During a lull in the fighting, Flood had closed the door behind them and kept them inside the chamber, away from any curious Super Mutants they might not have killed nearby. Though he said it was unlikely, she insisted on causticity. Who was he to argue with causticity? Not Charon, that's for damn sure.

A voice had come from those tapes. Flood reacted violently and vaulted it across the room, while Charon found an extreme dislike for the particular person it belonged to. Neither of them had expected the tapes to have been left by her father. He seemed to be picking up after himself up until now. All of a sudden he leaves these tapes, why? Flood had started screaming about it, throwing punches at the walls and attempting to crack the glass around her. Charon had to tackle her to the ground to get her to stop.

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME!" she had screamed in his decaying face. He didn't budge, putting her personal safety above his fear of punishment. She hadn't punished him so far, so why should he fear it?

It turns out there is plenty to fear if she's angered enough. Though she didn't physically harm him, she did start insulting him and degrading his appearance. "You don't know shit about what I'm going through, and you want me to just keep this shit in?" she screamed. "You get chased out of your home by your friends and see how you feel!" Mentions of his lack of skin were said and compared to his lack of a brain. "I bet anyone who was your friend turned on your when you lost skin, right? Who wants to be near that kinda face anywaY? One that looks like a fuckin' corpse!" Physical punishment was not nearly as hurtful as her words at that point, and Charon had stood and walked away before she could scream more. After that, she retreated to the basement and told him to keep anyone and everyone out of the room while she was investigating the tapes.

He did as he was told, of course, but after the episode he made an attempt to think about how he would feel were he in her situation. He wasn't sure how to go about it at first, but when he closed his eyes and imagined him being fired by Flood, he realized that it could've been the closest he could get to knowing what it felt like for her. He found himself very attached to Flood, even though she was difficult to handle. Whether it was because she held his contract or something more subconscious, he didn't know. Then he threw her father into the picture. Why would she chase after him if she weren't even his daughter anymore? That would take more thinking about.

So there he was in the Rotunda. Flood was in the basement tending to her own self and processing thoughts through her brain while he took a second and walked around, clearing his mind.

It didn't take long for him to turn around and start back towards the basement to see what was happening. She was obsessed with keeping to herself whenever she felt threatened emotionally. Actually, she told him that herself. Flood had said it on their way to the Rotunda.

"I'm not big on strangers knowing I'm upset," she said while kicking a rock down the shoreline. "I'd rather them see that I'm angry enough to hurt them rather than hurt enough to cry. Makes me more intimidating that way. The more intimidating I am, the less people bother me."

But now, with only Charon around, she broke down crying in her father's room. She had found one more Holotape and after hearing the voice, Charon thought it best to just leave her be.

Her sobs echoed over the lasting shocks of the gunfire from a half an hour before. Dead Mutant corpses littered the Memorial and Charon stood in the Rotunda, waiting for her to finish.

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